1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of plasma confinement in connection with thermonuclear fusion, and in particular to a method and apparatus for applying an electromagnetic field to a body of confined plasma, at a level calculated as a function of dimensional, mass and velocity parameters of the plasma body, using the relationship mc.sup.2 =Bvlq, where "B" is the applied flux density, "m", "v", and "l" are the mass, velocity and length, respectively, of the plasma body or constituent thereof, and "c" and "q" represent constants, namely the speed of light and the quantum of charge.
By equating gravitational energy (mc.sup.2) and electromagnetic energy (Bvlq), a resonance relationship is achieved that reduces lateral drift of ions and subatomic particles. Accordingly, confinement of the plasma is improved and the fusion reaction is more readily maintained within the Lawson criteria of minimum confinement time and maximum inter-particle spacing necessary to maintain the fusion reaction.
2. Prior Art
In high temperature nuclear fusion, for example to develop heat for the generation of electric power, particles of fusible nuclear material, i.e., the nuclei of lighter atoms, are combined to form heavier atoms, with a resulting release of energy. For example, deuterium or tritium atoms are fused to form helium atoms. The nuclei must be brought into proximity to fuse, against the forces normally tending to repulse them. According to conventional techniques, the particles are heated to high temperatures and impelled together, while attempting to confine the particles such that the energy released by fusion of nuclei will raise the energy of additional particles and produce a sustained reaction. High energy particles moving randomly in the plasma mass will come into proximity and fuse. The process relies both upon confinement of the nuclei and the high energy which impels them together.
The need to raise the energy of the particles is contrary to the need to confine them in close proximity. Lawson's criteria for sustaining a fusion reaction states that the numerical product of the particle density of a plasma (i.e., number of nuclei per cubic centimeter) and the particle confinement time (in seconds) must be greater than 6.times.10.sup.13 cm.sup.-3 *sec to obtain a thermonuclear fusion reaction in deuterium and tritium. The sustained temperature required in the plasma to obtain a break-even level of energy extracted vs. auxiliary heating energy input is believed to be 100 million .degree.C. The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has obtained the Lawson density-time relationship as well as the break-even temperature in separate experiments using the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor. However, plasma confinement remains a problem.
The Tokamak has a toroidal vacuum vessel for confining the plasma. Vacuum pumps can reduce the pressure therein to a level on the order of 10.sup.-1 to 10.sup.-8 Torr (about 1/100 billionth of an atmosphere). The strongest magnetic field components are toroidal field coils operable to produce a toroidal magnetic field up to 52 kilogauss for confining the plasma. Twenty toroidal field coils are operated at 3.2.times.10.sup.6 ampere turns to obtain the toroidal field, which can be sustained for about three seconds, and can be repeated every five minutes.
A poloidal field coil system comprises four groups of windings located outside the toroidal field coils and parallel to the plasma. Ohmic heating coils are disposed in the central hole of the toroidal vacuum vessel and the current therein is varied to induce a current in the plasma. The current provides heating and improves the stability of plasma confinement. A current level variation of 50,000 amperes in the ohmic heating coils produces a 2.5 million ampere plasma current. Equilibrium field coils are provided to position the plasma within the vacuum vessel. One function of the equilibrium field coils is to provide plasma compression by moving the plasma radially inwardly to a region of higher toroidal magnetic field. This compression increases the plasma density and pressure. Variable curvature coils are used to adjust the curvature of the equilibrium field lines. Horizontal field coils position the plasma vertically. The object of the overall coil arrangement is to heat and compress the plasma. However, with heating and with collisions, the nuclei of the atoms in the plasma are energized to move randomly, such that the required density and confinement time requirements are difficult to maintain at and above the break-even temperature.
According to the present invention, a mechanism is provided by which to prevent lateral ionic drift of ions and electrons in a plasma confinement apparatus, such as the Tokamak. Additional toroidal, poloidal and solenoidal coils are utilized for the production of relatively very-weak magnetic fields on the order of magnitude 10-10 gauss to 10-21 gauss. The specific level depends upon the dimensions (e.g., circumference) of the toroidal magnetic confinement chamber. The weak added field is applied at a level calculated according to the fundamental resonance relationship mc.sup.2 =Bvl coulomb. The added weak field induces a reorientation of the internal crystalline state of the ponderable bodies within the plasma (nuclei, electrons and other subatomic particles including neutrinos), whereby said ponderable bodies are better maintained within the fundamental body of the plasma so as to propitiate ignition of said plasma and to maintain the appropriate temperatures in hundreds of millions of degrees Kelvin to propagate controlled thermonuclear fusion power for commercial purposes.
The theoretical basis of said maintenance of ions, electrons and neutrinos within the body of the plasma includes four fundamental quantum phenomena: the piezoelectric effect, quantum Hall effects, cyclotron resonance effect and magnetic resonance to be summed up by the unified field equation mc.sup.2 =Bvl coulomb. These aspects of the invention are discussed herein in detail.
The proposition that a fusion process, which relies on magnetic induction on the kilogauss level to induce currents of millions of amps, could be favorably affected by a supplemental field of 10.sup.-10 gauss or less, relies on a consideration of gauge theory. It is well understood that electric charges, moving charges (i.e., current) and magnetic fields interact and according to Maxwell's laws propagate electromagnetic fields in space. It is also understood that physical reactions are in part governed by the electromagnetic forces that together with other forces (e.g., gravity, as well as strong and weak nuclear forces) produce attractions and repulsions of particles at various levels. The electromagnetic field incident on a particular ponderable body such as a particle or a body of plasma includes components of a multiplicity of electromagnetic interactions all concurrently operating.
According to the method of viewing and modeling the effects of electromagnetic fields known as gauge theory, all electromagnetic interactions are considered to operate instantaneously and independently. Although the level of an electromagnetic field produced by a given source may be small in comparison to the level of fields applied by other sources, every field has an effect which can be considered apart from the effects resulting from other sources. The fields due to sources other than a particular source under consideration can be ignored according to this analysis as they represent a background or ambient condition. The differential effect due to a particular source under consideration can thus be analyzed for its differential effects on the target. As an extremely simple example, one can accurately measure a microamp of current induced in a conductor loop due to passage through a low level magnetic field even though the same conductor may be subject to other magnetic fields and other influences which affect the conductor as well as the base level from which the measurement is taken. Electromagnetic effects are thus analyzed as differential effects.
Numerous physical measurements and calculations from measurements have been made to determine the physical characteristics of particles involved in physical reactions. However, the prior art has not successfully applied an analysis of differential effects of electromagnetic fields under gauge theory to the physical characteristics of the particles and/or body of plasma involved in particular reactions such as thermonuclear fusion. According to the invention, a resonant electromagnetic field applicable to a particle is determined by equating the characteristic energy of a particular particle based on its mass (energy=mc.sup.2) to the electromagnetic energy of an applied field in a conductor of the relevant length and velocity (energy=Bvl coulomb). The required flux density B can be applied at a frequency which likewise is calculated as a function of the physical characteristics of the target body. The result is a resonant field tending to agitate and thereby alter the mobility of the target particles, with concomitant effects on the reactions between particles.
The energy of an electromagnetic field calculated according to the invention can be small in comparison to other effects, for example the toroidal field of the Tokamak. However, the effects of the field are nevertheless real and subject to measurement or calculation according to gauge theory.